Designers Warming Up to Faux Fur
As more consumers are ditching fur, fashion brands are taking note.
Faux fur is making a comeback.
And just in time, since a bill that would make California the first state to ban the sale and production of fur products passed its first committee hearing test on Tuesday — the first of several legislative hurdles.
Faux fur was once reserved for the most extremist of animal lovers — or those wanting to relive Seventies fashion — but a larger number of consumers are now considering animal welfare before making purchases of products ranging from beauty treatments to apparel. Shoppers are seeking out labels that are not tested on animals, are cruelty-free or vegan.
Even so, while fake fur is showing up more on the runways, some designers remain staunch supporters of the real stuff. While antifur proponents claim wearing real fur is cruel to animals, fur supporters point out that real fur is more sustainable because it lasts longer and is completely biodegradable. As a result, fur remains one of the most divisive issues in the fashion world.
Case in point: Back in the early Aughts, when Stella McCartney’s brand was relatively new, people told the designer she would never make it in the fashion industry if she didn’t use fur in her collection. Even the advice of Tom Ford couldn’t sway her. Animal rights activists who taunted models and fur-wearing socialites with red paint and staininducing foods were seen as uncouth.
But these days, more brands are switching to faux fur, even as many of them continue to use shearling, leather and, in the case of luxury labels, snake skins like python.
McCartney, along with Betsey Johnson, Guess, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, are all longtime advocates of faux fur. More recently, Michael Kors, Gucci, Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Adolfo Domínguez and Versace have vowed to go fur-free in favor of alternatives.
The movement has even gone beyond brands. Cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have regulations that prevent retailers from selling new fur, or risk paying a hefty fine. The U.K., Australia, Netherlands and Norway have all banned fur farming. Last month, Los Angeles hosted its first Vegan Fashion Week. The week was promoted as the industry event where “fashion meets activism.”
While the trend has been happening for some time, Christina Sewell, assistant manager of fashion campaigns at the animal rights group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, claimed the downward trend of fur consumption has accelerated in the last 18 to 24 months. She pointed out that the rise in fake fur is “not just folks being concerned with why they shouldn’t be wearing something; they’re really excited about what they can wear instead.” She contended innovations in textiles have made faux fur “basically indistinguishable” from the real thing.
Even some longtime proponents of fur have come around. Last year Tom Ford told WWD that he had gone vegan and was using more fake fur in his shows. But he was clear that he wasn’t ready to label himself fur-free.
“I’m also very torn about this because fake fur is terrible for the environment,” he said.
The Marc Jacobs’ fall 2018 collection was sans fur, quite possibly a result of activists who showed up outside his show during the previous New York Fashion Week, goading showgoers and shaming the designer for his use of fur. But Jacobs said his decision to omit fur wasn’t political.
“We just didn’t use fur,” he told WWD. And even though Millennial and Gen Z shoppers are seeking animal-friendly alternatives, sustainable products are still expensive and achieving the same level of quality with synthetic materials is difficult, said Chris Carey, a principal at Manhattanbased equity firm Stripes Group. The company invests in technology, health care and consumer-product start-ups, helping them build their brands.
That might be one reason why some designers aren’t willing to part with real fur — and the industry remains very profitable. It generated roughly $30 billion worldwide in 2017, according to the International Fur Federation, or IFF.
Mark Oaten, IFF’s chief executive officer, estimates the numbers will be only slightly lower in 2018, fueled by the economic slowdown in China, which is affecting all luxury goods, not just fur.
Like Ford, the late Karl Lagerfeld — who designed Fendi as well as Chanel — famously declared that fake fur pollutes the world. Oaten argued that faux fur will only last around three years before it’s deposited in a landfill, while a natural fur could last around 30 years and is biodegradable.
“It might even get recut or refitted or passed on to a generation,” said Oaten, who expressed disappointment that so many designers “jumped on a bandwagon” in their decisions to go fur-free.
“It’s a huge, huge mistake that many of the brands will regret,” Oaten argued.
Instead, he said fashion companies should offer multiple options — and fake-fur advocates should stop bullying consumers.
“There’s nothing wrong with being vegan. But you shouldn’t impose those values on everybody else,” Oaten said.
“If those vegans, or if those animal rights activists, are so confident that they’re right, then people will just stop buying fur.”
As the debate rages on, WWD produced this running list of designers and retailers that have shed fur.
After years of going back and forth with animal rights activists, the Armani Group went completely fur-free in 2016. “Technological progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards to animals,” Giorgio Armani said in a statement at the time.
Last year, Asos said it would remove most animal products from its e-commerce site by the end of January. That included fur, feathers, mohair, cashmere, silk, bone, teeth and horns, with limited use of leather and wool. In addition, all faux products must be clearly labeled in the product description online to avoid confusion. The digital native also only sells cosmetics that are not tested on animals.
“Asos firmly believes it is not acceptable for animals to suffer in the name of fashion or cosmetics,” the company’s animal welfare policy states. “No animals should be slaughtered specifically to produce products sold through any of the Asos’ web sites.”
The free-spirited designer is well-known for her cartwheels and fur-free collections. Although now retired, Johnson said she’s never used fur in any of her collections — and never had any interest in doing so.
“Real fur? No way José!” Betsey Johnson said. “It’s not my thing. It’s not my style. It never has been.”
Last year, to the delight of animal lovers everywhere, the luxury fashion house made the decision to stop using fur. Riccardo Tisci’s inaugural collection with the brand would also mark Burberry’s first line sans fur. The existing fur lines, which in the past have mainly been limited to the trim on outerwear, are slowly being phased out. Rabbit, fox, mink, angora and Asiatic raccoon will also be discontinued, although the brand will continue to use shearling.
“Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible,” said Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s ceo, when announcing the decision. “This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success. We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products.” ►